"A blog is to a writer what a canvas is to an artist." ~ Colleen Redman

Archive for January, 2007

I never know what I’m in for when I call my Asheville potter son Josh on the phone. Last year when I called expecting him to be home some of my calls were routed to Canada, New York, Arizona, and South Carolina. Once when he answered his phone he told me he was in New […]

I danced on the ledge of a tall building swaying but not falling down I danced like Houdini throwing confetti like Annette Funicello in Beach Blanket Bingo I danced a biblical epic a science fiction movie and a music video I danced while fishing I cast a wide net I sewed a warm red sweater […]

Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage.” ~ Catherine Douzel It was our first official Teapoet tea party. Six of us were in attendance. There were freshly baked scones still warm from the oven with lots of choices of what to spread on them; crème fraiche, maple butter, marmalade, and honey kiwi fruit. There […]

The following originally appeared in The Floyd Press on January 18, 2007 She showed up about the same time as “A Taste of Floyd,” the slow food event that was hosted at the Harvest Moon Food Store last September. But some had spotted her even before that, with pups. The staff at the Harvest Moon […]

I haven’t listened to my John Mellencamp CD with the song “Your Life is Now” on it since right after my brother Danny died in 2001. One of my favorite last good memories of Dan was dancing to this 1998 CD with him and my sister Kathy. It was during a family Labor Day cook-out […]

1. While in town I ran into a woman whose name is Florence and who I only just recently met. She couldn’t remember my name. When I reminded her that it had something to do with Ireland (Colleen means “girl” in Gaelic) she said, “I still can’t remember, so I’m going to call you Lassie!” […]

You’ve heard of a “three dog night?” In our house it’s called a “three log night.” Although it’s been cold lately, it hasn’t been as cold as winters in the past when the frigid temperatures and howling winds have caused me to sleep with a wool hat on. On a night like that this poem […]

“Did the spoken word ad in the Floyd Press say that no men were allowed?” I joked when I scanned the café and counted ten women. Because of Rick’s retirement party up the road at Mama Lizardo’s attendance was light. So we gathered up close to the mic that most of us didn’t feel the […]

When writing, try to leave out the parts that most readers skip. ~ Elmore Leonard It was a year ago this past November that Elliot, a member of the writer’s workshop I belong to, died. Although he’s no longer in this world, his writer’s counsel goes on. I frequently look at the poetry I’m working […]

The following originally appeared in the Floyd Press on January 11, 2007. A group of 40 Floyd Countians gathered together on a recent Wednesday night to view Josh Copus’s “Building Community” slide show presentation, which aptly took place in the Community Hall room of the Jacksonville Center for the Arts. After two different laptops were […]

1. When it comes to music, I tend to be monogamous. It only takes one good CD to keep me happy for a long time. 2. Right now I’m married to Nora Jones. 3. She says: “The poet’s are demanding their pay. They’ve left me with nothing to say.” Do you think I should apply? […]

1. Money doesn’t grow on trees, but music might. 2. Mary Poppins might have been here. 3. Dumped 4. Think twice What did you see? Post note: All of the above photos were taken around town in the past few days.

The bird feeder Joe got for Christmas is three times the size of our old one. We like to feed our bird neighborhood of mostly chickadees and sparrows in the winter when the frozen ground makes it hard for them to forage. But this year we haven’t had a hard frost yet. It’s warm enough […]

Even a shopping list is interesting once it’s a few years old. ~ Colleen talking to Josh about collage journaling. Unedited Journal entry from January 3, 2003: The New Year doesn’t excite me, in the same way a birthday doesn’t anymore. It signals the passing of more time and a new number to get used […]

1. No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place. ~ Zen Proverb. 2. As far as writing goes, I’m a late bloomer because I’m self-taught and I spent the majority of my adult years as a stay-at-home mother. 3. In Floyd, we have homebirth, homeschool, homegrown, and homemade. I guess I fit in pretty good […]

The sadness is already there; the crying just lets it out. ~ Colleen – from the Jim and Dan Stories. I read through tears from the July copy of the Time magazine that my husband brought home from the eye doctor’s office. The cover, which read “How Your Siblings Make You Who You Are” by […]

About

From the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia I write to synthesize what I'm learning at the time, whether it be poetry, a political commentary, or a letter to my mother in Hull, Massachusetts, where I'm originally from. Whenever I don't know exactly what it is I'm doing and it borders on wasting my time, I call it research. 'Dear Abby, How can I get rid of freckles?' was my first published piece at the age of 11.